Mayor calls review of earthquake – strengthening policies

Mayor Prendergast is calling for a review of the Council’s earthquake-strengthening policies. Council staff will be asked to canvas a number of issues including whether the Council should:

revisit the review of the quake-prone buildings policy with a view to tightening the deadlines again

seek relaxation, where appropriate, of heritage rules to allow more latitude and flexibility in strengthening work. This could include the replacement of heavy masonry features like parapets or chimneys with replicas built from light materials like glass-fibre, timber or carbon-fibre.

consider changes to District Plan rules to allow the demolition of some older buildings with less heritage value

look at rule changes to force some building owners, if they can’t afford to strengthen, to remove heavy and dangerous features like parapets and chimneys from the roofs and facades of some buildings

increase grant funding to help more building owners complete strengthening work.